Magnolia Wastes No Time Getting Big Win

November 1, 2017

It only took two days for the Magnolia volleyball team to beat two OVAC champions. Magnolia beat Paden City, (the OVAC Class 1A champions), in straight sets Tuesday, Oct. 24, then turned around and knocked off the OVAC Class 4A champions John Marshall in five sets on Oct. 25 inside the MHS HammerDome the next night.

The match started out like John Marshall was going to wipe Magnolia off the floor, winning the first set, 17-25, and the second set, 11-25, like the Eagles did to them earlier in the year in the Parkersburg South Invitational.

But never fear, the Lady Eagles weren't going down without a fight, and indeed they did, beating John Marshall, 25-22 in a heart stopper with the Monarchs in the lead till the Eagles tied it up at 19-19.

Article Photos

Photo By Bruce CrawfordMagnolia’s #10 Kyndra Pilamt jams one through a pair of Monarchs defenders, while teammates from left, Kennedy Parsons, Kayna Andertson, Via Anderson and Lenica Grimm looks for a return.

Via Anderson, MHS volleyball player, was recently honored as the team’s lone senior. Pictured is Anderson with her family. Photos by Bruce Crawford

Both teams went back and forth with Magnolia taking its first lead at 21-20, and never looked back, winning in dramatic fashion, 25-22.

The fourth set was again was controlled by John Marshall, but the Eagles stayed a little closer in this one, before knotting things up at 20-20, and taking the lead at 21. From their the Big Blue Boppers, Kyndra Pilant, Mady Winters and Kennedy Parsons, went to work and pounded spike after spike. But, John Marshall countered, returning almost all their spikes. However, a few slipped by and the Eagles won, 25-23, setting up the tie-breaker.

With all the spiking from both John Marshall and Magnolia, you would have thought the front row attackers would be a little tired, but they weren't.

The Monarchs would pound the Eagles, while the Eagles continued to pound the ball, too. Both the Monarchs and Magnolia players like Grimm, Kayna and Via Anderson were still bumping up digs, and making saves, till late in the tie-breaker with the Eagles now up, 10-8.

From this time, all the Eagle players looked refreshed, and were still pounding the ball with their spikes and dinks, and making saves, while the John Marshall front row were just to tired from all the pounding, with the Eagles winning in dramatic fashion, 15-12.

"It was a very good win for us," said MHS Veteran Head Coach Pam Chapman. "We have talked a lot about volleyball, having ups and downs in the game, and as a team we need to learn to fight through the down times, play fundamentally sound volleyball and that is what they did. We are so proud of how they came back and took control."

The Eagles' Winters (2-aces) and Ashley Kelly (1-ace) each recorded 10-points, with Winters adding a triple-double with 11 kills and 10 blocks. She also bumped up six digs, while Kelly made a kill.

In addition, Grimm scored seven points, including an ace, while Pilant added a double-double 17 kills and 10 blocks, and tallied six points, that included an ace. Parsons scored a point and made seven kills, while Kayna Anderson compiled two points and made eight digs,

The Eagles' lone senior Via Anderson smacked her first kill, while bumping up 11 digs and making a bundle of saves, along with little sister Kayna.

Lenica Grimm had a double-double of 16 points, 16 assists, and had six service aces to lead the Eagles, while Ashley Kelly tacked on 13 points, including four service aces. Kennedy Parsons added nine points, two aces and made two kills, while Kyndra Pilant netted eight points, one ace, eight kills and blocked a shot.

In addition, Mady Winters compiled seven points, including four aces, eight kills and rejected two Valley shots. Kayna Anderson scored six points, while Via Anderson made three digs in her final regular season match. Shyanna White finished the Blue Eagle stats had a kill.